Homage to James McNeill Whistler’s “Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 1” (better known as Whistler’s Mother) by Ursula Klinger

Deeply in Thought, oil on canvas, 90x120 cm

In 1884 James McNeill Whistler received an invitation to take part in the annual exhibition of the Dublin Sketching Club. Whistler happily accepted by sending twenty-six paintings, which were greeted with very diverse opinions by public and critics alike. Among them was “Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1”, a portrait of his mother. It was to become an iconic image, for reasons of its style and content, even though Whistler had written in 1890 in his book The Gentle Art of Making Enemies: “Take the picture of my mother, exhibited at the Royal Academy as an ‘Arrangement in Grey and Black.’ Now that is what it is. To me it is interesting as a picture of my mother; but what can or ought the public do to care about the identity of the portrait?” But care the public did.

When I decided to do a painting for this year’s themed exhibition of the DPSC, I was immediately drawn to this painting due to its striking composition, restricted palette, and self-contained atmosphere.  Anna McNeill Whistler is sitting in a chair, hands folded in her lap. Seemingly alone with her thoughts she is looking pensively ahead into a dark area, as the shadows on her face imply. There is no communication with the viewer; her face is in profile. I saw the portrait of an older woman with a lot of life behind her, and inevitably I thought of my mother who I am very close to.

It was this special atmosphere in Whistler’s picture that I was mainly interested in. When I asked my mother to be my model for this painting she only agreed after a lot of hesitating. She is sitting in her old chair, which has suffered over the years. She is looking down at her hands, thus achieving the effect of self-containment and detachment, aided by the armrests of the chair. I used fine textures to distinguish the different sections of the painting, keeping to a muted palette. The picture in the back echoes the very bright image in the back of Whistler’s painting and also serves to create another level of reality.

As said above, Whistler’s painting is an iconic picture, and that presented a huge challenge for me to undertake.  I hope it will be taken as for what it set out to be: a homage to Whistler’s wonderful painting.

 

Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1, 144.3x162.4 cm

 For further information, CV and more work, please visit www.ursulaklinger.com